Weekly graphic. [volume] (Kirksville, Adair Co., Missouri) 1880-1949, 1887-01-21
For the Graphic.
SCENES In MEXICO.
From Death to the Grave. Coffin
Rent, Grave Leases and Duties
on Deceased Exports.
CITY OF MEXICO, Jan. 1887.

CITY OF MEXICO, Jan. 1881.
Among all classes the decease,
are adorned with flowers and oftel
encircled by row of burning can
dies. The mourning, though oftel
short, is marked by loud la
mentations, and among the yer,
superstitious, who live far out il
the wilds of the interior, a wax,
is held. In this they dance arount
the dead and make the most hide
Gus noises they can produce b,
means of bells, rattle boxes, ole
cans, board paddles, horns, and ;
fearful discord produced by rude
musical instruments. They prac
tice this with the belief that the
evil spirit comes to the deceased
Immediately after death to claim
the soul, hence they resort to this
means to scare the demon away
until the good spirit shall have
come and taken charge of the soul
After this, supposed duty, has
been faithfully performed, there is
a decided change in the cast OF
countenance among all friends and
relatives. Now that they have
been greatly relieved of their bur-
den of sorrow, they can 60 to the
grave in a more pleasing mood,
and with a peaceful and approving
conscience for having performed
what they regard as one of the
most important duties the living
can pay to the dead; hence it is
not at all strange that it should
bring Joy to the household and be
often practiced in secret where the
law forbids it.
The coffin, when used, is either
bought and buried with the dead,
or is only rented for the purpose
of carrying the corpse to the grave
after which it is returned to be
sold or rented to another. Those
who die in the hospital without
means of procuring one are usual
ly carted away to their cofinless
grave without one. Here in the
the capitol burial permits must
first be secured, after which the
dead are gathered into the funeral
car and conveyed to the cemetry.
At each end of the line a set of
shrewd and deceiving beggars are
successfully plying their vocation
among the strangers, on the plea
of present poverty due to the late
loss of relatives.
At the cemetery it is usually the
nearest relatives who takes charge
Of the deceased. During a recent
visit to the cemetery of Dolores
we saw mother vending her way
to the children's burying ground
with her little babe in a box under
her arm. At intervals she laid it
down by the way side while she
stopped to rest and rearrange the
flowers in the little coffin. Just
behind her followed young man
bearing coffin on his head which
contained the corpse of his sister.
Thus the scene continued until
they reached the grave, where the
relatives each in turn cast hand
full of earth over the remains, after
which paid laborers did the rest
and all was over until the time for
disinterment will have come. Then
what is left of the remains will be
taken up and cast in a promiscu-
Gus heap where the identity of the
person is lost for ever. Yet this
sad desecration may be avoided by
the purchase of the ground or by
the lease of the grave, but as the
purchase price is beyond the pow
er of the poor and as the length of
lease needed is longer than'man is
able to secure, the majority
of those who die here are by force
of circumstances, compelled to go
on through Potters-feld and to the
bone pile, in the prescribed and
legal way, with the multitude.
The duties on deceased exports is a
tax of about $50 levied ON each
corpse, which is taken out of the
country, for burial. These regu-
lations are of course repulsive IN
the extreme to all foreigners, hence
the French and Americans have
cemeteries of their own, where
their deceased country-men find a
resting place, and that free from
grave rent and post-mortem taxes.
1t is hoped their example will
teach this people a more civilized
and less repulsive manner of deal
ing with their dead in the future,
than accustomed to in the past.
While such is the fate of the ma
jority of Mexicans who die in their
own country; yet the rich see to it
that their position in death is re-
tanned as in life. They are laid to
rest among their own class where